Smoke Over Europe

A broad plume of smoke pouring from massive wildfires in Canada reached the stratosphere in June, 2013 and was soon transported across the Atlantic Ocean to reach Europe by late in the month. On June 26 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of the blowing smoke.

In this image, a broad ash-gray plume can be distinguished from bright white clouds. Part of the plume can be seen snaking over the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland, pouring from northwest to southeast. Another part of the river of smoke flows to the east, passing over the United Kingdom, France, the Bay of Biscay and Spain.

As of July 5, the government of Saskatchewan reported 17 wildfires. British Columbia has nine wildfires, Ontario reported 52 active fires, and Alberta reported 20. As of July 4, the government of Manitoba reported 51 active fires. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. noted that Quebec had four fires. The Department of Natural Resources for Newfoundland reported two fires, and New Brunswick reported no fires.